Wembanyama’s edge lifts NBA All-Star Game; Siakam makes impact on World Team
With injuries thinning Team World, Pascal Siakam played extended minutes and finished efficiently as Victor Wembanyama helped restore competitiveness to the All-Star stage.
Good afternoon and Happy Presidents’ Day. And welcome back to the Fieldhouse Files.
While most of the Pacers are on break, Pascal Siakam and two members of the Noblesville Boom (Ethan Thompson, Gabe McGlothan) were in Los Angeles for the 75th annual NBA All-Star Weekend.
I’ll get into that below, but first up — some notes and news you can use.
T.J. Warren could be playing basketball again soon after the G League’s Westchester Knicks acquired his rights on Sunday.
The Noblesville Boom acquired James Reese from the available player pool. The 6-foot-4 guard spent time at three different universities, concluding at the University of South Carolina in 2022.
Alize Johnson, the Pacers’ pick at No. 50 in 2018, was celebrated on Sunday as he was inducted into the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame. He just completed a buyout with the G League’s Iowa Wolves and will be playing overseas soon in the Chinese Basketball Association (with the Shenzhen Leopards), reports Marc Stein.
2017 first-round pick (18th overall) T.J. Leaf has been playing overseas for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, where he was born. However, his season is over after sustaining a left-shoulder injury that required surgery on Monday.
The finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 were announced last week and the group includes former IU coach Kelvin Sampson, the 1992 U.S. National Team (and former Fever guard Nikki McCray), Gonzaga coach Mark Few, official Joey Crawford. … I still believe former Pacers executive Donnie Walsh deserves the honor.
Chelsea Gray beat out Allisha Gray for the second annual 1-on-1 tournament at Unrivaled, which is highlighted by a $200,000 grand prize. Allisha Gray knocked out Fever center Aliyah Boston in the semi-final round. And semi-finalist Kelsey Plum edged out Kelsey Mitchell in the quarterfinals.
Mitchell on her favorite part: “Probably the creativity and to try and be you. … You get a chance to figure out where your game is, see what it looks like. All that stuff that you create when you go to the gym by yourself, you get a chance to really see what it looks like.”
Wemby Sets the Tone in Improved All-Star Showing
It’s one thing to say it, it’s an entirely different thing to go do it.
Once the 22-year-old All-Star set the tone, others followed.
Victor Wembanyama, in his second All-Star game, flipped the script on what has been seen over the last decade: The players, especially international guys, have little interest in an All-Star game. They’re just going through the motions.
The 7-foot-6 Spurs center, who can do it all, tried his best to help Team World to victory.
